Priorities
by Ascended-being
Summary: Madison Johnson has just gone on a journey of a lifetime. But, will she come back?
1. Prolouge

Prologue

She couldn't believe it. She was going to die on her first mission through the Stargate. How could she have been so stupid? She had made a promise to herself before going through the gate that she would be more careful. She had promised her dad, her friends, but more importantly she had promised John. The only man that had understood her and that she had cared for. Of course it would never work between them. They were both Lt. Colonels in the U.S. Air Force and it was forbidden for them to get together, but that didn't stop her from falling in love. Now she wouldn't ever be able to feel his arms around her again. All because of her stupidity that always got in the way.

"Open the damn gate, McKay!" Sheppard yelled as he carried Madison Johnson's lifeless body across the field. The villagers that had greeted them with open arms were now on kill mode and were chasing his team down towards the Stargate. What ever Madison had done to piss off these people must have been pretty bad.

"What happened? What did she do this time? I tried warning you about her Colonel but, as always, you let your personal feelings get in the way!" McKay spat back as he looked behind him at the angry mob making their way towards them.

"Shut up Rodney and open the damn gate, we don't have time to discuss it!" He knew that he was right though. As he looked down at her all he could think of was why he wasn't there to stop her from doing what ever she had done. This relationship had gone too far, too fast. He wished that he didn't feel the way he did but he loved her. Of all the things that he had done over the years, falling in love with her was the dumbest thing he had ever done. Yet he didn't care. All he cared about was getting her through the gate to help.

Once the team reached the Puddle Jumper the villagers were practically on top of them. If it wasn't for Ronan and Teyla, who were firing at them, they would probably be dead by now. McKay was the first one in and he had already started the engines by the time John had set Madison down. He took point as Ronan and Teyla ran in then he quickly shut the door behind them. He could hear the villagers banging on the outside, looking for a weak spot in the hull. Normally he would take the Jumper up slowly with so many people surrounding it, but Madison didn't have time to wait.

As he pulled the Jumper up he could see that half of the villagers were lying on the ground from the blast.

"What did she do?" Ronan asked as he took his seat behind from Sheppard. John didn't know how to respond to him. That was the exact same question he kept asking himself. "I'm not sure." The gate was straight ahead and coming up fast. McKay started to dial the gate when he heard a soft moan coming from the back of the Jumper. When he looked back he saw the Johnson was regaining consciousness. "Colonel Sheppard!" he said and when he had his attention he gestured to where she laid. Without thinking John leapt up and ran to her. This sparked a "What are you doing!" response from McKay but he only half heard him. "Madison? Madison can you hear me?" He didn't know if she had passed out again or if something worse had happened when she opened her eyes to look at him.

"John? What happened to me?" The only thing she could remember was a bright light then hearing his voice. Her last thought before passing out again was that she was glad that she got to see her again, and then everything went black.


	2. The Beginning

The Beginning

Three Weeks Before…

Meatloaf. That's what they always served at the complex on Tuesdays. Madison Johnson looked at it with disgust and poked at it with her fork. This was hell. She was sure of it. It wasn't enough that she had disobeyed a direct order from her CO to leave behind her best friend in enemy territory, but they had to serve this crap on the same day that she was to report to his office. She was sure that she was going to get the standard 'what the hell where you thinking?' lecture. Her dad had always told her to not get too attached to anyone in the military. You could lose them when you least expected it. And, as always, she ignored her father and had become great friends with her roommate in boot camp.

Sarah Anderton was a bright Airman who enlisted for the thrill of pulling 3 Gs in a fighter jet. Unfortunately she didn't realize that you required 20/20 vision and, seeing that she had had to wear glasses all of her life, becoming a pilot was out of the question. She instead familiarized herself in with weapons and had risen up in the ranks very quickly. Now a Major, she had found herself under the command of Lt. Colonel Madison Johnson. The very same Madison Johnson that had shared her room, all those years before.

Madison kept picking at her meatloaf when she heard the seat across from her scratch the floor. She looked up and almost cried to see that Sarah had the biggest grin on her face you would ever see. Every time she saw her now she would fight back the urge to burst out crying. Just to see her friend alive and well was a surprise after what she had been through.

"Hey! What's up?" Sarah asked as she saw Madison make an effort to hide her anxiety. It had been hard for both of them. The thought of losing one another was unbearable. The last incident had proven that. It was really hard for Sarah to put a smile on but it was better then sulking around all day. She tried to start up a conversation with Madison but soon realized that her efforts were futile. She would just sit there, poking her meatloaf with her fork. So she decided to not beat around the bush.

"Listen, Madison. What you did….I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you. I owe you my life. I just wish that you didn't have to pay my mistakes."

She was dreading those words. Madison felt like she was going to cry, but she knew that she had to be strong, for Sarah's sake. Sarah was hurting as much as she was because she blamed herself for what happened. She blamed herself for getting trapped behind enemy lines, for making the rest of the team risk their asses for her. She looked up and saw that she was crying softly to herself. That killed her a little bit inside. She went over to Sarah and put her arms around her. "It wasn't your fault, Sarah. If I'm going to be discharged, I'm glad it's for doing something good. If I could go back, I would do it over again."

That was the truth too. She would do anything for her friend.

"Thank you." was all Sarah could say. If she could change places with her friend she would, she'd take all the blame for it. When they finally stopped hugging they looked at each other and started to laugh. After all they had been through together they were still as thick as thieves. They started to reminisce on their boot camp days when they saw a Lieutenant approach them.

After he saluted them both he turned to Madison. "Colonel Johnson, the General will see you now."

'Great. I'm sure now, this is hell' Madison dismissed the Lieutenant and slowly got up. "Good luck. You're going to need it." Sarah said as Madison picked up her plate. She shot her a sarcastic look then head for the doors. This was going to be the worst hour of her life.

As she walked down the hall to her CO's office, she contemplated what he was going to say to her. "What the hell were you thinking!" was what he usually said to her when she screwed up. But then again there was the occasional "I'm very disappointed with you" speech he gave. She doubted that she was going to get either one of those, though. What she had done those other times where nothing compared to this. When she finally got to his office, she heard laughter coming from inside. 'This day just couldn't get any worse could it?' First it was the damn meatloaf, then Sarah crying in the cafeteria, now her CO was laughing at, no doubt, her finally getting a discharge. When she got closer though, she started to hear something very strange.

"I'm telling you Peter, we could really use her out there. Dr. Weir seems to think that she has potential, and If Weir thinks so then I think so."

"It's not that simple, George. What she did is inexcusable. She disobeyed a direct order and put the lives of three good officers on the line. She's reckless, and you know it."

"That reminds me of a certain General who was once the leader of SG-1. And not to mention the highest ranked officer in Atlantis. We _need _her out there, Peter. And you know it."

There was a long silence that followed. Madison couldn't believe what she was hearing. What ever was going on here it was big. But why would she be in on it? SG-1, Atlantis, and Dr. Weir….what the hell is going on?

"She won't be able to handle all of this at once. We're going to have to wean her on the idea of going to another galaxy. Hell, I've known of the Stargate program for two years and I still don't believe it!" Peter knew that Madison wasn't going to freak out over the news. He just wanted to discharge her and get it over with. Bringing her to the Pegasus galaxy had got to be the worst idea ever, and he was going along with it.

George looked over at Peter with stern eyes and said, "We'll do everything in our power to make sure that she gets there safely. You have my word on that."

That was it. She had to figure out was going on and she had to do it now. She knocked on the door, but she wasn't going to wait for an invitation to go in. When she opened the door she was greeted with a shocked from her CO, but the man he had been talking to, a general, seemed like he was expecting her.

"Ah, Col. Johnson, I suppose you know why you were asked here?" The general asked. She knew that she should say that she was asked here because of the incident, but now she wasn't sure. The only thing she could do was give a slight head nod. She wanted to know what was going on, and she wanted to know now.

"You might want to sit down for this, Madison. It's going to be hard to hear all of this." Peter looked at her and saw that she was hesitating to, so he walked over and held her shoulders and said, "Please, Madison. Do it for me." It pained him to say this because he was never really that close with his daughter. Being in the military distanced himself from his family and he had gotten used to that. Now he had to let his guard down for her.

She looked at him with a surprised look then slowly sat down. That was the first time since she had joined the Air Force that he had expressed concern towards her. It scared her. This thing that was going on must be big to have him shook up like this.

When the general saw that she was settled in he took out a blue folder and set in on the desk. He also saw that she was trying to get a better a look at it, so he folded his hands on top of it. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea about things.

"Colonel, what I'm about to tell you has been deemed classified by the President of the United States. Whatever you hear in this room will be expected to be kept to yourself, is that clear?"

"Yes sir. But, with all due respect, what is so important that you want me to be involved?" She wasn't the best officer in the Air Force, so why would anyone want her to be involved with classified material?

"Despite your record, you may be the one person we are looking for. We are facing an enemy so powerful there may be no stopping it." He stopped to look at her and he saw that she was a little confused. Who wouldn't be? So, he decided to get straight to the point.

"Do you like to travel, colonel?"

This was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. Travel? What the hell did traveling have to do with anything? Madison could only look at the general in amazement. She saw that his name tag said Hammond and though that she better remember that name. She would have to stay clear of this lunatic in the future.

"Umm, yes, Sir. I guess I like to travel. May I ask what that has to do with anything?"

Gen. Hammond just looked at her and smiled. "Col. Johnson, it has everything to do with it."


	3. The Journey

The Journey

As Madison was packing her things into her duffel bag she was thinking of what General Hammond had just told her the day before. She was needed in another galaxy to help defend earth against life sucking aliens. He didn't even have the courtesy to tell her how she was going to get there, or for how long she was going to be away. Another thing she couldn't get was why he had wanted her in the first place. Her record didn't exactly show her to be a great officer. She had been demoted twice for disobeying direct orders, only to be promoted soon after for going above and beyond the call of duty. When she had heard her dad say that she was reckless she couldn't disagree with him. She was always doing reckless things even as a kid. That's part of the reason she had joined the military, for the thrill to do dangerous stuff. But this mission sounded way more dangerous then anything she was comfortable doing.

When she was finished packing she sat down on her bed and looked down at the blue folder. When he had handed her the folder he said that it was her decision, but that it would mean a great deal if she went along. No pressure. None at all, just the fate of the earth was depending on this mission. As she thought about it more and more she could feel knots forming in her stomach. This mission was going to end with her doing something stupid, again. But that didn't stop her from making her decision, she was, most likely, going to accept, and make the best of what was about to come. But before she left she had to say goodbye to her friends. She sat down at her desk and started writing a note to Sarah, saying that it had been a blast working with her and that she would always remember her. She also promised that she would come back in one piece, but she knew that that promise was stupid to make. She might come back, but in _pieces, _not _a_ piece. When she was finished she called to the nearest Airman and asked if he would deliver it. She didn't think that she would be able to do it in person, and she hoped that Sarah would understand. This was it. Her life was going to change during this mission. She could feel that it would. She picked up her bag and walked out the door towards her transportation. There was no turning back now, and just like that, she was off on the mission of a lifetime.

It had been 48 hours since Dr. Weir had approved of bringing Colonel Madison Johnson to Atlantis. She hadn't liked the idea of bringing new people here to Atlantis, but they were getting their asses kicked out here by the Wraith and they could use all the help they could get. She was given about 100 personnel files to go through and only one slot to fill. To her understanding this was going to be an experiment, and if all went well, they would bring in more reinforcements. When she was going through them, she was basically just skimming, but when her eyes came across Col. Johnson's file, she was sure that they had found the person they were looking for. Her record wasn't the greatest, she saw that she had been demoted a couple of times and had been described as reckless, but she always brought her team members home. That was the kind of commitment that Elisabeth was looking for. She didn't even bother reading the other files, she was sure of her choice.

As she walked out of her office onto the balcony, she saw John Sheppard walking up the stairs from the gate room. He gave her a smile as he approached and stood next to her. She was happy that he had come, she needed the company.

"So, any word on that Colonel that's supposed to be comin'?" He wasn't to keen on the idea of bringing new people here either. But, he had read her file and was…intrigued by her. She sort of reminded him of himself, the reckless ways, the demotions, he could relate. He still wasn't happy about her coming though.

"Not yet. Is it just me, or does it seem like they are taking their own sweet time in giving us a response?"

"I thought that I was the only one. But before she gets here can I ask why she has to join my team? Isn't a five man team overkill?"

"Well we want her to learn from the best. Besides, it would be good to have her get used to Rodney's bickering as soon as possible."

He had to smile at that. "Why couldn't that have been protocol when I signed up? Let me know if there's any word." He would've stayed longer but his team was scheduled to go off world in about thirty minutes.

"Will do." Another 24 hours, and Elisabeth was going to go crazy. She wanted an answer, and she wanted it now.

Madison had tried to sleep in the Jeep, but the engine was so loud, it was impossible to relax. The driver was a young Lieutenant who was eager to start a conversation. He kept trying to talk to her but she wasn't in the mood. She kept thinking about what she was about to do and what was going to happen. The thing that bothered her most about the trip was that the Lieutenant seemed to know more about the whole situation then she did. She only half heard him but she could've swore that he had said something about a Stargate. And how he wished he had the stomach to go through it. Well she had to know more so she asked, "Stargate? Is that some kind of ship or something?"

The Lieutenant just looked at her like she was stupid. "You mean you haven't heard of the Stargate? And you're going to Atlantis? If I may say so sir, you haven't got the whole story."

She was very confused now. Stargate? She was going to use this Stargate to get to Atlantis? Then she remembered that the report had said that she was going to travel on the Daedalus. It was some kind of 'super ship' that had advanced technology on it. At least that's what she was told. But now she wasn't too sure of her information.

"Was this Stargate developed by the military?"

"I wish. If the military ever came up with technology like the Stargate, then that would solve all of our problems." He saw that she had another confused look on her face and decided not to go into it further. He had to wonder how someone who was so out of the loop be going on this mission.

For a Lieutenant, he had a lot of information. "How do you know so much about this, Lieutenant?"

"Well, I've worked at Cheyenne Mountain Complex for the past four years. That's where they keep the Stargate. Let me just tell you that once you've seen the Stargate in action, everything that you've ever thought about the universe will change."

'Why wasn't I told all of this? Could this get any weirder?' After the Lieutenant had told her that, she just looked at him and sat quietly. Could it be that incredible? She hated waiting for answers, but that was all she could do. After a few minutes Madison finally fell asleep. All of this worrying was tiring. Besides, with all of the hype around this Stargate thing she figured she would need all of the rest she could get.

Sheppard and his team made their way towards the gate. The planet they were about to go to was rumored to have some fancy weapons on it that were from the ancients. If that was true, it would certainly help their odds of beating the Wraith.

"Good luck." Elisabeth said as she watched them from the balcony. She didn't like getting her hopes up for finding something important, but this time it seemed different.

Sheppard looked up and waved. "Thanks." And with that, they were off.

Sorry this took so long to post. I'll try to update faster in the future.


End file.
